Despite their recent string of success, the Philadelphia 76ers need a point guard.
And this summer, their search for one will lead them to a familiar face, according to ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe:
The Pelicans will probably ride it out with Holiday, and hope the bidding for him doesn’t get $20-million-per-year frothy. They might win that bet. Chicago and Dallas, two obvious suitors, won’t have that kind of room unless funky stuff happens with options linked to Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade. The Spurs can’t get there unless Pau Gasol opts out.
That would leave only Sacramento, Philadelphia, New York, and perhaps Orlando as big-money suitors in dire need of a point guard. The Sixers will take a hard look at Holiday, sources say; he fits what they need around Ben Simmons, and the hilariousness of Philly bringing Holiday back after flipping him to start The Process is irresistible.
Talk about coming full circle.
The Sixers traded Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013 for Nerlens Noel and a pick that became Eflrid Payton, which they used to turn into Dario Saric. Bringing Holiday back is, as Lowe notes, high comedy at its absolute zenith.
If the Sixers do get involved in the Holiday sweepstakes, it’s bad news for the rest of the league, including the Pelicans. They have gobs of cap space and may not care about maxing out a fringe star for the sake of adding wins. Anyone hoping to pick up Holiday on the relative cheap (so, sub-max deal) will be totally screwed.
The Pelicans could simply dangle a fifth year in front of Holiday that pays him slightly less annually but a lot more over the long haul. Or the Sixers could shift their attention to a cheaper, yet still viable, stopgap since they already have T.J. McConnell on the roster, Jerryd Bayless on the payroll, and the ability to take a floor general in this year’s point guard-loaded draft.
Whatever the Sixers intentions this summer, Holiday will be a hot commodity around the league, well beyond Philly and New Orleans. How much he ends up costing, though, could be directly related to the Sixers’ level of interest.
